Calm has returned towards the streets of Quito after Ecuador’s government agreed to reinstate fuel subsidies following 11 times of nationwide, violent protests.
Peace talks between indigenous leaders along with other protest groups, president Lenin Moreno and a Un mediator proved successful on Sunday. But only after the worst civil unrest for more than ten years paralysed the country for twelve days, and cost seven people their lives.
The president agreed to cancel the subsidy cut (referred to as decree 883), with an agreement forwards and backwards sides to consult on a new law.
The subsidy cut was part of a package of austerity obligations under a $4.2 billion arrangement using the International Monetary Fund.
Fossil fuel subsidy cuts are supposed to help the environment, signalling a finish to fossil fuel dominance, and also the beginning of heavy investment in alternatives, whilst saving taxpayers money.
In September, the UN secretary general António Guterres gathered world leaders to some summit in Ny where he demanded a finish for this type of support for coal, gas and oil.
Moreno – who won by popular vote in 2023 – told reporters last week that Ecuador’s fuel subsidies, which have been in position for decades, “distort” the economy.
But the cut came without the backing of immediate renewable alternatives. 43% of Ecuador's electricity originates from non-renewable fuels, 54% from hydro and 2% using their company renewables. Most drivers are associated with using fossil fuels. On 3 October, prices for gasoline and diesel rose by 25-75% overnight.
The protests began the same day with a transport strike. The immediate increase in fuel prices forced bus operators and taxis to hike up fares. For that majority of Ecuadorians, public buses are the best way to navigate Quito’s looping, dangerous tunnels and overhead highways.
A single fare on a single of these often overcrowded, questionably-driven buses – which may never meet European safety standards – is 25c. The subsidy cut resulted in fares up to 40c for a single journey.
Overnight huge numbers of people were struggling to make a start or school. Many people take five buses each day to get at operate in Quito, said Maggie Criollo, an activist for Solidarios Chiriquí, a nearby group that provided emergency food, water and medicine for indigenous people who travelled to Quito to protest.
“The subsidy goes past gasoline and diesel. It affects all of the freight vehicles packed with products for transportation,” said Johana Sánchez, an Ecuadorian cultural sociologist and journalist. The price of goods and food rose.
The minimum wage in Ecuador is US$300 to $400 per month. Based on the World Bank, nearly one fourth of Ecuador's population live under the poverty line. The price hikes, coupled with Ecuador's low wages, meant people could not cope with the price increases.
“People are angry because of the economic measures that Lenin Moreno’s nefarious government is utilizing. We must respond in some manner,” says Criollo.
Like France’s gilet jaunes, who also began their protests due to regressive fuel policies, people popularized the streets, roads were blockaded, airports closed, shops and schools shut their gates. The whole nation came to an abrupt halt.
Leading the protests have been indigenous families, groups and activists, who are also national champions for environmental reforms. “Indigenous people go to the head from the protest and are generally from the exploitation from the land,” says Sánchez.
Protesters in Ecuador worry about environmental surroundings, says Sánchez. “There is really a subversive fight for that environment, however the media are complicit in not reporting what's happening.”
People protesting desire a safe environment and stable economy, says Sánchez, “and I wish to join them by any means that I can.”
